On The Journey--SHIN!

Princes persecute me without a cause,
But my heart stands in awe of Your word.
I rejoice at Your word
As one who finds great treasure.
I hate and abhor lying,
But I love Your law.
Seven times a day I praise You,
Because of Your righteous judgments.
Great peace have those who love Your law,
And nothing causes them to stumble.
LORD, I hope for Your salvation,
And I do Your commandments.
My soul keeps Your testimonies,
And I love them exceedingly.
I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies,
For all my ways are before You. Psalm 119:161-168 NKJV

The 21st letter and stanza--acknowledgement, praise and hope in the midst of any trial.

How many times has someone who has authority over us--attempted to misuse their authority and persecute us, simply because we would not conform to doing things their way-in opposition to God's Word? We were not the first to experience this ploy to get us to be deceitful and dishonest and we won't be the last.

Whenever anyone expects us to lie or cheat in order to keep a job or to stay in their favor, we should have the same attitude the writer has. We should abhor lying and deceitfulness with a passion and openly denounce it.

Are we in awe of God's Word enough to keep it--no matter what others do? The more I study and seek God for understanding, the more I realize just how much His Word is so much better than the dictates of man.

In God's Word--there is Life and Liberty--freedom to live according to God's Word, knowing we are pleasing God, whether others find fault with us or not.

In God's Word--there is Justice and Mercy. God's Word is just--not fair--for His righteousness is just and there is nothing in it we can debate--that will change His intent for our lives. This is why we are constantly reminded in His Word that the wicked shall have their judgment for all the world to see and we are regarded--His righteousness, for we have none of our own.

In God's Word--there is Love and Grace--God is love and therefore everything He has done, is doing and will do is based upon His love for us. If we follow His commands--to love Him and one another--the world will be filled to overflowing with Love and we shall peace upon the land because of His favor shown towards us.

In God's Word--there is Peace--His peace that surpasses all understanding. And because we belong to Him, we too can enjoy blessed peace in the midst of chaos and confusion when we live according to His Word.

In God's Word--there is Light--that overcomes the darkness that hangs as clouds because of the wicked imaginations of those who oppose God. Wherever there is darkness, light dispels it and exposes the deeds of darkness. We cannot hide from God, no matter what we think we can do that He won't see or know.

In God's Word--there is healing--for our bodies and for nations under siege--due to differences of opinion and the ravages of war. By His stripes we are healed of illnesses, diseases and with His peace we are healed of frustration and depression over things we cannot control. If those of us who believe Him would simply pray--earnestly--believing He will answer-- and repent of our waywardness, He will heal the land.

In God's Word--there is Truth--for His Word is Truth and His Ways are the true way by which we should live. Whenever God's Word is not revealed as Truth, peace is disrupted and chaos reigns.

How often we pray to God or communicate with Him on any level is not a matter of prescription or formula, but it should be a way of life for every Believer. I pray throughout the day--thanking God and praising Him for His goodness--and I have no idea how many times I do it; I just do it.

My soul loves Jesus and all my hope is in Him for there is no hope in any other! How about you?

God's People Are Never Ashamed of Their Faith In Him!

"You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed." (Joel 2:26 NIV)

"Let the weak say I am strong and the poor say I am rich because of what The Lord has done."

God's promises through all the prophets are just as true today as they were when they were first uttered. They are still speaking to us when we hear and obey The Word of God! The hungry will have plenty to eat and praise The Lord for His filling them and all of God's people (those from then until now) will never be ashamed for acknowledging Him as their source of plenty. No where in the Word does God say, the "rich" will inherit anything other than trouble. Not that He has a problem with people being rich--monetarily, but He would prefer we all be rich in mercy, love, and forgiveness--as He is, so should we be.

Through our obedience to God's Word,we put ourselves in position to not just be blessed, but to stay blessed so we can bless others. Though the wicked may "appear" to prosper, their prosperity will not last and they will be exposed in the light of day for all of their wickedness. We see this in the media when the corporate moguls are exposed for wrong doing and then end up in prison. We see this when politicians who side with wickedness end up exposed for all their wrong doing. But none of this should surprise us since we know that "wickedness in high places" exist and we are in a war--that cannot be fought in the natural, but in the Spirit.

We can expect--to be blessed--beyond our imagination when we hear and obey God in all things. It does not matter what people say or think; it does not matter what godless judges think or say, or how they attempt to change God's intent for mankind--our job is to obey God, rather than man. For man has not heaven or hell for us and we should not allow them to influence us in living in opposition to God's Word.

If we truly studied history, we would discover that man's ills have all been a result of disobedience to God. When we exclude God in the things we do, He lets us and then--like those who came before us--some recognize our error and plead with God to step in and make things better. We could save ourselves a lot of time and grief if we simply chose to obey Him in the first place. But then--some would never call upon Him, acknowledging His existence.

Since we who believe know to do better, we should be doing better--in promoting the Gospel, sharing our faith and God's love, and in convincing by example that our God is an Awesome God--who will not allow His people to suffer when they obey Him!

Let's get "this party" started--share His love with all you meet and greet and encourage them to develop a right relationship with Him, receiving all His many benefits. Glory Hallelujah!

Think You Can Write?

Purposeful Writing

Writers today lack ability to compose words that connect the reader with a mindset to engage, entertain, and influence those that ponder and contemplate the connected contextual content of so many slashes on paper that attempt to mimic classic construction of such, viably termed, literature. Small wonder that society as a whole has lost its way to elucidate minds and encourage discovery in changing and rearranging the alphabet in ways that tackle the boredom of youth, yet re-energize the minds thought past redemption to understanding age-fraught diseases that lead to forgetfulness and sometimes complete eradication of what was.

Stifled, stunted by contemporary verbiage that is more folly than wisdom at its best when the best of language appears to be that which we now disown rather than use as an indicator of our intellectual ability and foresight and not just an extant reflection of who we once were.

Hampered, hamstrung by rituals and rules constantly changing, and rearranging thought patterns from ancient to present, but not relaying any message with clarity, as yet understood by the masters-of-words who could with the blink of an eye or stroke of pen transport readers from there to then within the space of time, not withheld from those who had imagination. 

A preponderance of evidence exists, illustrating ineptitude by many, including those who proclaim they are masters of the written word in teaching it and yet fail to elucidate their ability at every turn, penning composition better suited for elementary students with simple minds that lack sophistication to compose letters of the alphabet that would entice a scholarly mind to read.

Mundane describes with understatement the slew of words on paper that attempt to divulge the essence of thoughts pre-arranged in random order that never meets with structure and organization designed to formulate a clear, concise message with fortitude.

Many redesign and regurgitate the prose of ancient ones in an attempt to supersede abilities in their proliferation of archaic pronouncements in terms that float just out of reach of those who dare to contemplate use of a dictionary, or resource of any magnitude, dispelling the notion that words and their contextual use are unimportant.

The means by which change occurs, lies within the ability of all concerned to see the need to reevaluate the processes  used in learning and teaching and mostly in views that are ensconced in boxes with lids and fresh ideas are staled with the hindrance, and no one gets beyond the pale to think beyond the boundaries established by those who did not access galactic thinking.